Glass Towers: Surrendered (22 page)

I am alarmed, “What has happened in the last few days?”

“I don’t want to discuss this in front of everyone.” He nudges my arm and takes me off to the foyer.

Once we are alone, I turn to him. “Just what the hell is going on? Is that photo collage from Marion?”

His face and demeanor is grim. “Yes, that is from Marion.”

“Ok. So what else? You need to tell me what is going on, Harrison, don’t keep me in the dark. You owe me an explanation now.”

He sighs, “She has been voicing threats to anyone that will listen, and those threats have been making their way back to myself and my father. We have been hearing that she is planning a big scene that is supposedly going to bring us down. That is all I know, except for one thing. She is still convinced that I am going to marry her once you are out of the way.”

Once again, I feel the blood rushing from my face, and I am suddenly shivering.

“What is she planning to do to me Harrison?”

He shakes his head. I grab his arm and force him to look me in the face.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know what she has planned, but she has made it clear that she intends to remove you from the equation. I am not taking any risks, which is why I have the security in place at all times. When we go to the lodge this week, we will have a team of guys surrounding us. When you go to the luncheon tomorrow,  you will be surrounded.”

“Oh, this is just awful. What a shitty way to live, Harrison. Can’t you do something about her with all your money and power? Isn’t there something that can be done?” He reaches over and wipes away the tears streaming down my face.

“It is never like it seems
mi Cherie
. She has money too, and unless we can prove she has threatened you, we have to wait it out. However, the collage she sent tonight is enough to show that she is harassing us. The board will slap her with a lawsuit on Monday. At least, that will send her a message that we are not going to simply sit back and take this.

I feel a new sense of doom setting in. This woman is going to ruin our holidays and our wedding.

“You and I both know that is not going to be enough. She will just keep at this until I am out of the way. What are we going to do?”

“We are going to take
her
down. That is the final word on this. I don’t want you to worry anymore. I will protect you. I promise.” He takes me in his arms, and I feel my body relax.

“Come, let’s go salvage the rest of this party.” He wipes at my face again, and I straighten my shoulders as we re-enter the room. Harrison’s father walks over to us.

He looks directly at me. “Do not worry. You are a Towers now and we take care of our own. This woman will not be free to terrorize much longer. I have already called the Chairman of the board and plans have been put into action. It is only a matter of days until you are free of her.”

“Thank you, Mr. Towers.”

He nods and walks over to join his wife. I look around the room at the familiar faces and up at my husband’s. I feel safe once I realize that I am surrounded by those who only want to rejoice with us, not tear us down.

The next morning, something is tickling my nose. I pry my eyes open and see my handsome husband’s face hovering over mine. He has some of my hair in his hand and is running it over the end of my nose, which causes me to sneeze.

“Achoo!”

“Bless you,
mi amore
!”

He traces my lips with his finger, then plants his mouth on mine for an arousing good morning kiss. Lifting the covers, he peeks at my naked body. He looks back at me and then, with a devilish grin, he disappears under the covers. I gasp, as he licks his way from my nipples down to my sweet spot. He slowly runs his tongue up and down my clit. He takes it between his teeth and gently nibbles. His hot breath on my sex feels so good. As her inserts two fingers into my wet pussy, I moan. It sends electric shocks to my core. My breathing is shallow and raspy as he is swirls his finger in a circular motion then in and out. His teeth are still nibbling at my clit, while his hot tongue flickers across the overly sensitive tip. I find the stimulation to be almost unbearable. As the pressure builds, I am squirming under his exploration of my pussy. He pushes his fingers as far into me as he can, and he finds that magic spot. He takes his other hand and pushes on my lower tummy. As he does this, he sets my release into motion. He is still ramming his fingers deep in my heat as I feel my core explode into one wave of pleasure after another. I have the luxurious bed sheets clenched in my fists, as I come down off my high. Harrison moves back up to my head and kisses me passionately. I taste myself on his lips.

‘Well, that was some way to say good morning!”

He kisses the tip of my nose, then slides off the bed and says over his shoulder, “Race you to the shower.” I watch him as he runs to the bathroom stark naked. I enjoy watching his butt as he disappears through the bathroom door. As I make a move to get out of the bed, he peeks his head back out, “Coming?”

“I just did.” I yell after him as I giggle to myself.

While we took our time getting ready to join the others downstairs, my mom and Clarke had Albert and Lance take them to a local toy store. They don’t want to arrive to the luncheon today empty handed, so they picked out an armful of toys to donate to the cause. When I am done with playing with Harrison in the shower, I get serious about transforming myself into someone who looks like a mogul’s wife.

I take the time to put some loose curls in my hair and use the clip-in hair to cover my short hair patch. I carefully apply my makeup to make me look finished, without over doing it. The trick is selecting what I am going to wear. I stand in the middle of the walk-in closet and ponder what to wear. “Danielle! You better hurry! It’s almost time for you to go!” Harrison is hollering at me from the bathroom. I quickly select a magenta jersey wrap dress and a clustered necklace to fill in the neckline. I slip into my black knee boots and grab a black cardigan sweater. I join the ladies in the great room and grab a bunch of grapes sitting on a platter on the coffee table. The limo arrives promptly at 11 AM, just as Harrison’s mother said it would. The three of us pile into the roomy limo and we’re on our way.

“So, Danners, what kept you this morning? We missed you at breakfast.”

I know that my face is turning a few different shades of red. “Oh, just getting some much needed sleep.”

“Ok. I get it.” She winks at me
.

We chat about the mansion and the upcoming mountain lodge trip for the 20-minute drive to the country club. The limo pulls up in front, and the driver comes around to let us out while Albert and Lance wait for us at the front entrance. Once inside, we make our way to the banquet room and check in at the table in the lobby. We walk in, and I pause to see if I can spot my mother-in-law. As I survey the room, my heart literally stops. I have to close my eyes and open them again because at first I think my eyes are deceiving me. Marion Devereaux is standing among a group older, distinguished looking women. The lady to her right bears a strong resemblance to her so, I would wager a guess that woman is Mrs. Devereaux, Marion’s mother. I see that Clarke has noticed Marion also. She is bu
sy whispering in my mom’s ear.

I feel a tug at my arm and whirl around to see my mother-in-law looking at me with worry in her eyes. “I need to speak with you, privately, if you please.” She looks to my mother and Clarke and they both nod. I walk out into the hallway with her. I notice that Lance and Albert are sitting on a bench outside the door. “Danielle, I had no idea that Marion would be coming to this function. I only knew that her mother, Mrs. Devereaux, was coming. I never thought I would have to ask her mother not to bring her.”

“I am not sure what Harrison would want me to do. Maybe I should call him?”

“I wish I knew what to do. You probably should call him. I cannot ask them to leave. It would be highly improper.”

“Oh, I would never ask you to do that. I think it would be best if we leave. Don’t you?”

“Oh, this is awful. I am so embarrassed. Here you are my new daughter in-law and I can’t show you off properly.” She dabs at her brow with a tissue.

“Honestly, I completely understand. I think we should just leave and try this again another time. Perhaps the four of us can have lunch later in the week?”

“You are a dear. Come, while you are here, I would like you to meet a few friends who will be coming to the wedding. Then, I agree, you should leave.” I start to pull my phone out. “Nevermind calling Harrison. You can leave in a few minutes. I will give you lunch suggestions, and you and your lovely mother and friend should go have a nice lunch.”

“Ok. Sounds good.” I feel like bolting to the door and running to the limo. I don’t want to meet her friends, but how can I refuse?

Harrison’s mother and I re-enter the banquet room. I take a deep breath as I brace myself for the inevitable interaction. To my amazement, Marion is standing next to my mother and Clarke, but they are not speaking to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Clarke practically has steam coming out of her ears. I can tell by looking at them that they are very guarded and uncomfortable. Before we join them, Mrs. Towers guides me over to where another group of well-dressed women are standing. She introduces me to each of them as her new daughter in-law and she is positively beaming, but I suspect it is a put on. I can tell from our discussion in the hallway that she is worried about the situation.

She hastily pulls me away from the group of women and nods at a younger woman holding a clipboard. The younger woman asks everyone to take their seats. At that moment, we turn to walk toward the door and Marion steps in my path.

“Well, Miss Austen. Oh, excuse me, Mrs. Towers,” she says through gritted teeth. “Imagine my surprise to see you here today.”

I have no response. I just stand giving her a fake smile. “I was just about to leave. If you will excuse me.”

“Leaving so soon? What a shame. I would like to hear more about your wedding.” You can hear the acid in her voice. “I hear it’s to be on what was supposed to be my wedding day. That’s not very nice, stealing one’s fiancé, you know.”

Mrs. Towers interrupts, “That will be quite enough, Marion. Let’s not make a scene.”

Marion smiles at Mrs. Towers, then starts to walk by me, leans down to my ear, and whispers, “He’s still mine, bitch.”

I gasp, as my spine turns cold. I turn to respond, but she has already walked away. Mrs. Towers is pulling at my arm to lead me out to the hallway. We are followed by Clarke and my mom.

She turns to all of us. “Ladies, if I had known she was going to be here, I would never have invited you. Please accept my apology.”

“It’s fine, Mrs. Towers, don’t give it another thought.” I am trembling in my boots.

She looks toward the banquet door and then says, “I’m sorry, but I have to get in there. I will see you soon, and again, I am so sorry.”

Once we are leaving in the country club in the limo, I turn to my companions, and the tears start spilling out of my eyes. My whole body is shaking. My mom moves over to sit next to me and puts her arm around me, while I continue to sob. She hands me a stack of cocktail napkins that she swipes from the little bar. I blow my nose and try to catch my breath.

Simone starts in, “What the hell was the Wine Witch doing there? Isn’t there a restraining order or something on that bitch yet? You know she is a total Looney Tunes. Seriously, she …” My mom cuts her off.

“Enough, Clarke. I know where you are coming from, but let’s see if we can get Dani calmed down before we add too much insult to injury. Now, can you get a message to Harrison to let him know what has happened?”

Clarke nods, and she digs her phone out of her purse. She sends Harrison a message, and as I suspected, he is furious. We are home in a fifteen minutes, and I already know what is going to unfold once I walk inside. We will end up rehashing everything she said to me, and Clarke and my mom will add their two cents. This will occupy the remainder of our day.

Once we pull up in the limo, the front door flies open and Harrison comes hauling down the stairs with my father and Garrin in tow. I guess their poker game has been cut short too.

Harrison opens the door to the limo and offers his hand to help us out. Lance and Albert are standing by the car, looking bewildered. They have no idea what happened, all we told them was that we weren’t staying.

Once we are inside, Harrison herds us into the great room as if we are sheep. I sit down on the sofa and lean down to remove my boots. As I assumed, we discuss what happened from the minute we arrived at the Country Club to the moment we pulled away in the limo.

“I still can’t believe that woman’s bravado. She is delusional and fucking dangerous.” Simone covers her mouth with her hand and looks at my parents. “Sorry.” She makes a face and then continues. “Dani, why did you let her talk to you? Why didn’t you just walk past her?”

“I couldn’t, Clarke. She blocked my passage to the door, and what was I supposed to do? Snub her in the middle of the luncheon and embarrass Mrs. Towers?”

“No, I suppose not, but I can’t believe what she said to you.”

Harrison rejoins us after hanging up his phone call. “Well, that was my father. Just more material to add to our case. The restraining order should be issued Monday. We just have to hang tight until then, and besides, we will be an hour and half away in the mountain.”